Buccaneers at 1-5: Who replaces Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers sit at 1-5 after blowing a 16-3 lead to the Pittsburgh Steelers in overtime, according to The Sporting News. With quarterback Baker Mayfield sidelined by injury and the season unraveling, head coach Todd Bowles is running out of runway. If ownership pulls the plug, the franchise faces a structural problem it has failed to solve for two years: finding an offensive architect capable of stabilizing a roster built to win now.

Tampa Bay cycled through play-callers all winter before hiring Bowles’ former coordinator Liam Coen in 2024, only to watch him leave. The next hire must end that revolving door. Franchises stuck in coaching loops rarely break out without a schematic reset. The Buccaneers need one immediately.

At 30 years old, Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski represents the sharpest departure from Bowles’ defensive pedigree. Udinski drew interest from the Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills during the last hiring cycle before staying with the Jaguars, where Trevor Lawrence’s early-season resurgence kept his stock climbing, per The Sporting News. Hiring Udinski would require pairing him with a veteran defensive coordinator — a model the San Francisco 49ers used successfully when promoting Kyle Shanahan in 2017.

Mike Tomlin is available. Whether he wants to work again this winter is another question entirely. The former Steelers head coach spent nearly two decades in Pittsburgh before departing. Reports cited by The Sporting News suggest Tomlin is unlikely to return to a sideline immediately, though Tampa Bay’s low-drama front office and weak NFC South competition make it a logical landing spot if he changes his mind. He walked off the field for the final time as Pittsburgh’s coach after a 30-6 wild-card loss to the Houston Texans on Jan. 12, 2026.

Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Nate Scheelhaase interviewed well enough to land on Cleveland’s shortlist last offseason. Now operating as Sean McVay’s primary assistant in his first year calling plays, Scheelhaase carries the McVay tree’s premium valuation. Teams routinely overpay for that lineage. The risk: extracting him means asking a first-time play-caller to simultaneously manage a fractured locker room.

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has reached a Super Bowl. He has also failed to consistently maximize Joe Burrow’s prime. If Cincinnati misses the playoffs again, a ninth season under Taylor becomes difficult to justify, according to The Sporting News. Retread hires carry stigma, but Taylor offers something none of the younger coordinators can: proven big-game management. The NFC South remains the NFL’s weakest division, lowering the threshold for immediate contention.

San Francisco 49ers offensive coordinator Klay Kubiak does not call plays. That distinction matters. While his surname carries weight — his father Gary Kubiak won a Super Bowl as a head coach, and his brother Klint Kubiak coaches the Las Vegas Raiders — Klay remains a projection rather than a proven commodity, per The Sporting News.

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile received interviews during the last hiring cycle. His second season calling plays has drawn positive reviews, according to The Sporting News. But hiring another defensive specialist forces Tampa Bay right back into the exact search for an offensive play-caller that defined the post-Coen offseason. The franchise cannot afford another winter spent auditioning scheme fits while the roster ages.